2009 Stumptown Comics Fest page 2
A photo diary of April 18 & 19
Tom Neely had copies of his award-winning graphic novel The Blot and a new collection of 23 comic strip poems called Brilliantly Ham-Fisted. Tom also drew the cover for the Stumptown issue of The Portland Mercury.
Periscope Studios was well represented at Stumptown. Steve Lieber and Sara Ryan collaborated on a special comic called Escape from Alcatraz. Commissioned by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy this comic is based on the book Breaking the Rock by Jolene Babyak. It's available from the Alcatraz gift shop. Top
In addition to her comics work Sara Ryan recently completed her second novel, Rules for Hearts published by Puffin. Top
Rich Ellis collaborated with Susan Tardif on a new series called The Ravens' Gambit. The first issue is subtitled Best Laid Plans. Rich is working on his second graphic novel in a series of books based on Rod Serling's original scripts for The Twilight Zone. Top
Cat Ellis was also on hand selling copies of her new mini comic Flaccid Badger. Top
Terri Nelson was selling prints and posters and a new mini comic called Portland Paparazzi. You can read it online here. Top
Sara Ryan's story Flytrap is being published in a series of mini comics. Each episode is (usually) drawn by a different artist. Ron Chan draw issues #2 and #3. Top
Sarah Burrini drew issue #4, the latest episode in the Flytrap series. Top
Jim Valentino is producing a series of children's books these days. He hopes to influence young readers with a mixture of traditional illustration and comics storytelling techniques. The most recent volume featuring his artwork is Bruce: The Little Blue Spruce, which was written by Kristen Koerner Simon. One of Stumptown's special guests this year, Jim also fielded audience questions along with one of the founders of Periscope Studios, Paul Guinan in a one hour chat session. Jim also provided portfolio reviews throughout the fest. Top
Zander Speaks is a photographer who adds irreverent humor and observations to select photos posted weekly on his website. Top
Adriana Yugovich introduced me to Hey, 4-Eyes! a handmade comics anthology edited by Robyn Chapman from The Center of Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. Adriana has a two-pager in the current issue #3. Past issues and other comics by Robyn are available on her website. Top
Josh Shalek brought some Arizona-inspired humor to the fest with a collection of his webcomic Welcome to Falling Rock National Park. Check out his comics online and be sure to read his blog entry about his Stumptown experience. Top
Zach Corcoran was on hand to sell his self-published titles like Blasphemous Saga Fantasy, The Return of Quetzalcoatl, and Cave of the Mimics. Top
And speaking of Quetzalcoatl, I was happy to meet James Williams who's work I first encountered at Reading Fenzy with The Journey of Quetzalcoatlus. James had his latest book for sale, a collaboration with Dan Pope called Drive In. (Curse these digital cameras with shutter speeds faster than the blink of an eye!) James was nominated for a Stumptown Trophy Award for outstanding artwork. Top
I first saw Corinne Mucha's work in Papercutter #8 so it was fun to meet her and see more of her work in her self-published books like My Alaskan Summer, Shithole, I Hate Mom's Cat, Buzz, and Recent Work. Top
Sarah Becan of Short Pants Press was selling a variety of books including her latest Shuteye. Issue #4 is called Carrefour. Top
Several folks from Cloudscape Comics came down from Vancouver, BC. Jonathon Dalton had copies of his the first two issues of his beautiful A Mad Tea-Party. You can read the first three chapters online, but the books are so beautifully produced, I couldn't resist the print versions. Top
Scott Ritchings who runs the House of Scott was one of Cloudscape's many contributors to the Historyonics anthology that won the Stumptown Trophy Award for Outstanding Design. Top
Angela Melick does a webcomic called Wasted Talent . Her work is also part of the Historyonics anthology. Top
My last stop on Sunday was to ask Aron Nels Steinke to autograph Papercutter #9. He was selling copies of his Big Plans and Super Happy Cat Dance mini comics. I'm eagerly awaiting his first graphic novel, Neptune which will be out this summer in a joint publishing effort between Tugboat Press and Sparkplug Comic Books. Click here for Aron's latest potential cover design. Top
I probably only stopped at about one third of the tables in the exhibit hall. Several publishers were there including Fantagraphics, Dark Horse Comics, Top Shelf, Sparkplug Comic Books, Oni Press, and Microcosm Publishing. I did chat with Linda Meyer from the Ink & Paper Group. She was with Bo Johnson of Bowler Hat Comics who published Alex Fajardo's Kid Beowulf graphic novel and Sarah Neufeld's Visibility illustrated book.
David Malki was on hand promoting his Wondermark books. David taps his extensive library of vintage illustrations and repurposes them into comical stories filled with sarcasm, dry humor, and punditties, You can read his twice-weekly updates on the Wondermark website.
For the full list of exhibitors check out the list on the official Stumptown website. I wish I could have seen more, but I'm pleased to have connected with a few dozen of the great artists and writers that came to the festival. Many thanks to the event organizers and volunteers that made it possible. It was a blast! Top
-RK
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